2015 La Dame de Montrose, St Estèphe

There is a really nice aroma of tobacco combined with floral notes on the nose here. Darker fruits dominate, blackberry, cherry and plum to the fore. There is a sweetness to the palate too, with an energetic lift and very rewarding length.

I really like the wine this year. A cooling, mineral, earthiness arrives on the finish and this is really welcome and pleasing. Quite sumptuous for a second wine, it is serious this year. A good fruit core, nice and savoury and a joy to taste.

Scores and Reviews

BBR

16/20

The Wine Advocate

88-90/100

Jancis

16.5/20

Suckling

94-95/100

The Wine Advocate - The 2015 La Dame de Montrose is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot that was picked between 15 September and 8 October. It has a perfumed, floral and pure bouquet with black cherries, blueberry and violets, all with commendable delineation for a deuxième vin. The palate is well balanced with a more sumptuous texture compared to its fellow Saint Estèphes, thanks to that lush Merlot that forms the core of this wine. It has commendable energy and feels approachable, therefore with 3-4 years in bottle, you should have yourself a fine if not exceptional La Dame de Montrose.Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate #224 - April 2016

Jancis - Deep crimson. Scented and sleek. Very ripe and flattering. Not at all like the classic Montrose style - presumably deliberately made to be drunk young. Polished and even rather sweet! Not that St-Estèphe ... Drink 2023-2030Jancis Robinson MW - jancisrobinson.com - Apr 2016

Decanter - Dense floral and cassis nose with a minerally graphite base. Very good natural richness of fruit and great purity of expression. A very serious, very exciting second wine. Drink: 2021-2035Steven Spurrier - decanter.com - April 2016

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The Producer

Château Montrose is one of the leading wine properties of St.Estéphe, and produces some of the longest-lived wines in the Médoc. Montrose had been owned by Jean-Louis Charmolue from 1962 until 2006, when it was sold to Martin and Olivier Bouygues, owner of the eponymously named construction firm Bouygues, is located in the east of the appellation, just north of the hamlet of Marbuzet, on a gravel knoll only 800 metres from the Gironde estuary. The proximity of the estuary ensures a microclimate that protects against frost, and the vines, which lie on deep clay-gravel soils, benefit from a south-easterly aspect.

Other wines by this producer:

The Grape

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc,Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.

The Region

St Estèphe is the northernmost of the most important communes of the Médoc and borders Pauillac on its southernmost border, with only a gully and stream separates it from Ch. Lafite. To the north lies the Bas-Médoc.

St Estèphe is defined by the depth of its gravel, which is ubiquitous but of varying depths and occasionally very shallow, when clay predominates. This keeps the soil cooler and wetter than its counterparts so that the wines can appear fresh in lighter vintages, but superbly successful in hot, dry years.

The best châteaux in the south of the commune have the deepest soil and the thickest gravel. Cos d'Estournel has an exceptional terroir with its vineyards being located on a south-facing ridge of gravel with excellent drainage.

St Estèphe is the least gravelly of main Médoc communes and in the north of the commune the vineyards are heavier and more clay-based leading to a rustic style of wine being produced.

The wines can appear austere in youth with a discernable ferric note at some châteaux, but the best typically display good depth of colour, pronounced acidity an tannins in youth and are exceptionally long-lived. At their best, they are the equal of almost any Bordeaux. The well-regarded St Estèphe co-operative controls the production of about half the appellation.